Thread: Colour for Carbatec and Metabo machinery

Master Splinter, are you (or anyone else) able to tell me what RAL stands for?

I know that PMS stands for Pantone Matching System as I've been using that for about 35 years, but until this thread, I have never heard of RAL. Neither has my wife, and she is German, although there are many technical things about Germany and German standards that she is unaware of, which is normal.

Mick.

From Wiki pedia :

In 1927 the German Reichsausschuß für Lieferbedingungen und Gütesicherung" (State Commission for Delivery Terms and Quality Assurance) invented a collection of 40 colors under the name of "RAL 840". Prior to that date manufacturers and customers had to exchange samples to describe a tint, whereas from then on they would rely on numbers.

In the 1930s the numbers were changed uniformly to four digits and the collection was renamed to "RAL 840 R" (R for revised). With tints constantly added to the collection, it was revised again in 1961 and changed to "RAL 840-HR", which consists of 210 colors and is in use to this day. In the 1960s the colors were given supplemental names to avoid confusion in case of transposed digits.

As "RAL 840-HR" covered only matte paint the 1980s saw the invention of "RAL 841-GL" for glossy surfaces, limited to 193 colors. A main criterion for colors in the RAL CLASSIC collection is to be of "paramount interest". Therefore most of the colors in it are used on warning and traffic signs or are dedicated to government agencies and public services

Jill, many thanks, quite interesting. I tried to find out what it stood for, it appears that I was typing in RAL as a stand alone unit, no wonder I couldn't find anything.

Mick.